The Domestic B.O.

Animated features and live-action movies with abundances of animated effects crowd against the top of the list.

WEEKEND GROSSES

1). The Secret Life of Pets (ILL/UNI), 4,381 theaters (+11) / $15.3M Fri. (-60%)/ 3-day cume: $50.6M (-52%)/Total Cume: $203.4M/Wk 2

2). Ghostbusters (SONY), 3,963 theaters (+11) / $17.1M Fri. (includes $3.4M previews)/ 3-day cume: $45M /Wk 1

3/4). Finding Dory (DIS), 3,535 theaters (-335) / $3.2M Fri. (-49%)/ 3-day cume: $11M (-47%)/Total cume: $445.5M/Wk 5

The Legend of Tarzan (WB), 3,551 theaters (-40) / $3.2M Fri. (-48%) / 3-day cume: $11M (-48%)/Total cume: $102.3M/Wk 3

5). Mike and David Need Wedding Dates (FOX), 3,008 theaters (+26) / $2.3M Fri. (-65%) / 3-day cume: $7M (-58%)/Total cume: $30.8M/Wk 2

6). The Purge: Election Day (UNI), 2,671 theaters (-150) / $1.9M Fri. (-53%) / 3-day cume: $5.9M (-52%)/Total cume: $70.9M/Wk 3

7). Central Intelligence (WB/NL/UNI), 2,381 theaters (-460) / $1.5M Fri. (-39%) / 3-day cume: $5.2M (-35%)/Total: $117.4M/ Wk 5

8). The Infiltrator (BG), 1,601 theaters / $1.4M Fri. / 3-day cume: $4.6M/Total: $6M/Wk 1 Wed. opening

9). Independence Day: Resurgence (FOX), 2,290 theaters (-771) / $1.1M Fri. (-51%) /3-day cume: $3.8M(-51%)/Total: $99M/ Wk 4

10). The BFG (DIS), 2,182 theaters (-1,210) / $1.2M Fri. (-52%) / 3-day cume: $3.7M (-52%)/Total cume: $47.3M/Wk 3 ...

For the next several years, there will be a surge of cartoons with funny, wacky (and whacked out) talking animals. The planning sessions are happening even now.

At the link, Deadline loused up the total cume for "Finding Dory". Someone over there will likely notice the erro and correct it later in the morning. In the meantime it's corrected here.

Click here to read entire post

One-Two Punch

As of Thursday, Secret Life of Pets had earned $152.6 million and second place Finding Dory and tucked away $434.5 million.

This can't possibly be correct.

How can two animated features be thriving at the same time? HOW? And if you tell me "They're different", I will tell you "cannibalization!" ... "Crowding each other out of the marketplace!"

Because two animated features can't co-exist in the Big List without one or the other (or BOTH!) being mortally wounded! Not possible!

Click here to read entire post

Sony Hires

From your friendly neighborhood press release, up in the Land of Free Money:

Randy Lake, president of Sony Pictures Imageworks, the Academy Award®-winning visual effects and animation unit of Sony Pictures Entertainment, today announced four new hires at the studio’s Vancouver headquarters: senior VP, production, Michelle Grady, VP, artist management, Ryan Pollreisz, veteran visual effects supervisor Sue Rowe, and art director Daniel Cox.

Michelle Grady, senior VP, production, will oversee Imageworks’ growing roster of more than 600 visual effects and animation artists. Grady has spent 23 years in the Visual Effects and Post-production industry in Vancouver, where her career grew alongside the expanding film production business in the city. She joins Imageworks from visual effects studio MPC, where she served as head of film, managing projects including Batman v Superman, Guardians of the Galaxy, Godzilla, Maleficent, and Life of Pi. Prior to MPC, Grady was VP and general manager at Technicolor. She will be taking over for Lydia Bottegoni, who currently heads production for Imageworks, and will be stepping down later this summer.

As VP, artist management, Ryan Pollreisz will manage crewing, recruiting and training for Imageworks. Pollreisz joins the company from his previous position as managing director of production at Deluxe and Encore.

Sue Rowe, visual effects supervisor, joins Imageworks from MPC in Vancouver. Talented in traditional animation, 3D animation and compositing, she has nearly 20 years of experience in the industry on projects including The Maze Runner, John Carter, X-Men: The Last Stand, Troy, and visual effects Oscar®-winner, The Golden Compass.

Daniel Cox joins Imageworks as visual effects art director, with substantial experience as an illustrator, storyboard artist, and art director on projects including Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, The Great Gatsby, The Wolverine, and Gods of Egypt for studios including Animal Logic and Weta.

Commenting on the announcement, Lake said, “Michelle and Ryan are talented executives with deep knowledge of the visual effects industry, and Sue and Daniel are experienced artists with impressive bodies of work. I am thrilled to tap their collective expertise as Imageworks continues to grow.”

Sony Pictures Imageworks is currently in production on the Warner Bros. live-action feature Suicide Squad, The Smurfs: Lost Village and The Emoji Movie for Sony Pictures Animation, Kingsman: The Golden Circle for 20th Century Fox, and Storks for Warner Animation Group. ...

Sony Imageworks continues to thunder along ... in Vancouver.

Because if the taxpayers aren't providing help, the Sonys, Disneys, and Fox-News Corporations have no interest playing in that particular sandbox. Along those lines, I had an interesting conversation with a highly-placed industry lawyer recently; we talked about the conglomerates pursuit of tax subsidies:

"They go where the tax dollars are. Doesn't matter if they've filmed shows for years in North Carolina or Florida. If the subsidies stop, they pull out and go build the sets where they get a tax break. Even if they have lots of stages, lots of sets, doesn't matter. They'll leave in a half-second and go where they get money." ...

That's the way big corporations roll these days. If there's cash being handed out, they are THERE. Free enterprise, fck yeah!

Click here to read entire post

Emmy Nominations

All self-respecting blogs are supposed to announce these, yes? It's a rule.

AND THE ENVELOPE

Outstanding Animated Program

Archer • The Figgis Agency • FX Networks • FX Studios

Bob's Burgers • The Horse Rider-er • FOX • Bento Box Entertainment

Phineas and Ferb Last Day of Summer • Disney XD • Disney Television Animation

The Simpsons • Halloween of Horror • FOX • Gracie Films in association with 20th Century Fox Television

South Park • You're Not Yelping • Comedy Central • Central Productions

Outstanding Short Form Animated Program

Adventure Time • Hall of Egress • Cartoon Network • Cartoon Network Studios

The Powerpuff Girls • Once Upon A Townsville • Cartoon Network • Cartoon Network Studios

Robot Chicken • Robot Chicken Christmas Special: The X-Mas United • Adult Swim • Stoopid Buddy Stoodios

SpongeBob SquarePants • Company Picnic • Nickelodeon • Nickelodeon Steven Universe • The Answer • Cartoon Network •
Cartoon Network Studios ...

There are a lot of talented artists and directors in the Television Academy who spend a lot of time reviewing animated shows submitted to the TV Academy. The amount of animation has grown over the years, so it's a challenging job. (It's amazing they can enough carve time out of busy careers, but somehow they manage).

Our congratulations to all the nominees.


Click here to read entire post

TAG Craft Meetings

As many know, the Animation Guild covers just about every kind of artistic and technical job related to animation: writers, board artists, animators, designers, background artists, and technical directors. (The Guild doesn't cover production people).

As we come to the end of the first year of the 2015-2018 contract, the board's officers and board decided it would be a good idea to hold craft meetings to review how people are faring under the new agreement, and to share information. To that end, Guild membership will come together on the following dates at 1105 N. Hollywood Way, Burbank California:

Craft Meetings - August and September

Agenda:

Review of the 2015-2018 Agreement – One Year In
New Media
Studio Tests
Uncompensated Overtime
Production Schedules
Piece Work
Animatics

1) board artists and revisionists – Tuesday, 7 p.m. August 16

2) timing directors – Tuesday, 7 p.m., August 23

3) designers, background artists – Tuesday, 7 p.m., August 30

4) CG animators, modelers and tech directors – Tuesday, 7 p.m., September 13

5) Writers – Tuesday, 7 p.m., September 20 ...

The Guild has 3,747 people working under its jurisdiction; this is a big jump from where it was five years ago, when the total was 2,718, and slowly climbing
out of the employment doldrums of the early oughts.

Even with the record-high employment, there are abuses that continue: non-comped overtime; overlong storyboard and design tests; unrealistic schedules. Many of these issues have existed for decades, and they are much like plastic pop-up moles in arcade games. A problem gets taken care of on one studio production, and (whattayaknow!) up pops its bristly little head on another show.

These meetings are open to active and inactive Animation Guild members. As we get nearer to meeting dates, handy reminders will go out via e-mail.

Knowledge is power, and the more knowledge you have, the more effective you'll be steering your career through the corporate shoals.

Click here to read entire post

Why The Sequels

Well, they make boatloads of money, that's one simple, obvious reason. But WHY do they make money?



As previously stated, the movie industry has been doing this kind of thing. Pushing emotional buttons, servicing audiences' pleasure and nostalgia centers, that what Hollywood has been about. From the dawn of movies as mass entertainment, they've built films around genres and movie stars.

At the height of the star system, movie companies tailored features to their lead actors' most winning (and bankable) personality traits. Like for instance, here's Clark Gable in the quintessential Clark Gable role, maximizing MGM's profits.



In the world of cartoons, Disney famously declined to make sequels to his features, but there were plenty of sequels with shorts centering on Disney stars: endless Mickeys, a whole flock of Mickey-Donald-Goofy extravaganzas, even a sequel to The Three Little Pigs.

Now that the power of movie stars and "star vehicles" has faded, studios have decided that sequels of earlier blockbusters are the surest way to riches. And the best, most sure-fire route is replicating an original hit's structure and DNA. That's why, for instance, the new Star Wars feature carefully mimics the story beats of the 1977 film. Why the on-coming live action version of Beauty and the Beast apes the animated feature. Why Toy Story II and Toy Story III are scrupulous about fulfilling audience expectations by keeping the characters true to their original selves.

Nostalgia and pleasure centers are powerful things. Our fine, entertainment conglomerates have figured this out, and profited from the knowledge.

H/t Matthew Koh.

Click here to read entire post

Acquisition Time (Continued)

As goes Universal/Comcast and DreamWorks Animation, so goes a toy company and foreign cartoon studio.

[Hasbro] has acquired Dublin-based Boulder Media, the company behind Disney Channel’s “Wander Over Yonder” and Cartoon Network’s “Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends.”

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“With Boulder, we will deliver the highest quality animation that will engage our audiences with deep storytelling and great characters in a very cost-efficient manner,” said Hasbro chairman-CEO Brian Goldner. ...

Hasbro has been a presence in animation for multiple years now. They run the playbook started by Filmation thirty-plus years ago with He-Man, that Disney does with the Cars franchise. And that ... to be frank ... every entertainment conglomerate does with its animated movies and television shows: use the animated product to sell loads of games, action figures, plush toys, etc.

But what this means (probably) is that Hasbro sees itself being in the animation game for the long haul. And will be creating animated half-hours until the plastic merchandise beloved by children disintegrates and blows away. That will likely happen sometime around 2132.

Click here to read entire post

Out Near the Bob Hope Airport

... Where Tujunga Avenue arrows through the San Fernando Valley ... and the machine shops hum and the big silver birds soar ...

Disney staffers are telling me they're getting a wee bit fatigued at the extra hours they're putting in as Moana sails ever closer to the end of production. ...

"We've got three weeks of animation left, then there's a fairly long gap before the next feature. I don't know how that's going to impact people's schedules."

"The lighting department will wrap at the end of September. Schedules have stayed short through the last few pictures. Moana doesn't seem much different from the schedule for Zootopia, but something feels like it's a little different." ...

I've seen this kind of production fatigue before. It happens toward the end of many demanding pictures. People get burned out, staring at flat-screens all day long, watching the same scene or sequence over and over. The Disney crew is working sixty-hour weeks; some people choose to do five twelve-hour days and others opt for six ten-hour days. Either way, it's demanding, especially after going on for months.

The original Space Jam back in the '90s had a much crazier schedule. The crew had less than ten months to do a pile of hand-drawn animation. People were sleeping under their desks and working 12-hour, seven-day weeks. To walk through that production was memorable. Artists were imbecilic with chronic fatigue. Artists were dozing over their light boards.

Moana's schedule isn't close to being as radical as Space Jam's was. Still in all, the crew is feeling the weight of a long, complex production.

Click here to read entire post

Leaping the Divide

Another feature animation director crosses over to live-action.

Jennifer Yuh Nelson, best known for helming the Kung Fu Panda movies, will make her live-action directorial debut with Darkest Minds, Fox’s adaptation of the YA trilogy by Alexandra Bracken.

Shawn Levy and his 21 Laps banner are producing. ...

Nelson rose through the animation ranks working on shows such as Spawn and The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest before making her directorial debut with 2011’s Kung Fu Panda 2, which nabbed an Oscar nomination for best animated feature. She directed Kung Fu Panda 3, which was released in January. ...

Jennifer Yuh Nelson broke into animation two decades ago, working as a board artist in television. Being multi-faceted, she also worked as a designer, a background artist, and writer.

She came to DreamWorks Animation a few years after its founding, and worked as a story artist on various DWA features before directing the hand-drawn segment of Kung Fu Panda, then directing the whole kaboodle on subsequent Pandas. Given the trajectory of Jennifer Yuh Nelson's career to date, the move to live-action seems as though it's part of a natural progression.

Jennifer talks about her artistic career at this link and this link.

Click here to read entire post

Most Successful Year?

This can't be true.

... The highest grossing box office year for animation was 2013, which saw over $1.6 billion in ticket sales thanks to having three films in the top 10: Frozen, Despicable Me 2, and Monsters University. This year, there are four films currently in the top 10, and animation has already grossed over $1.1 billion, with half a year left to make up the difference. It won't take much for the remaining features combined to be successful. Kubo and the Two Strings will see one more major animation release this summer and even if it doesn't set the box office on fire, it should set everything up for a massive holiday season.

We used to be told (over and over) that animated features gobbled each other up at the box office. That there was a glass ceiling for long-form animation and our fine, entertainment conglomerates were making too many cartoons, damnit!

But the premise was always flawed, because animation is just one more format for telling stories on a big screen. If you're telling a variety of tales that audiences want to see, then there really is no cannibalization.

There are now two animated features in the marketplace that people want to see, one about fuzzy domesticated animals and one about fish in the sea. For some reason, upright carbon-based life forms have no trouble paying tickets to view both, probably because different characters and plotlines inhabit each of them. This is not a hard concept to grasp if you frontal lobes aren't too small and under-used.

I believe the media is now catching on to this dynamic. Because the talk about one cartoon dining on another cartoon has pretty much stopped. Finally.

Click here to read entire post

Animation Guild Golden Award Interviews #32 -- Johnnie Vita and Ed Aardal

As Mr. Deneroff puts up the last of these archived interviews (and many thanks to Mr. Deneroff for posting them), here is background artist Johnnie Vita and animator Ed Aardal, remembering when.



Johnnie Vita jumped into the animation business as a background artist soon after high school and stayed in the industry for decades ... mostly on the East coast. He started his career at Terrytoons (where he ingested his first strong slug of liquor) and years and years later became Ralph Bakshi's go-to background artist, as Michael Sporn explains (with visuals at the link):

... When Ralph Bakshi got Fritz the Cat as a feature, he brought Johnnie Vita along as his Background designer and artist. This was arguably the best decision Bakshi made on the film.

Vita went out with the storyboard and photographed locations that actually existed. His camera was all over Greenwich Village and Harlem. Then he took these photos and did a linear tracing of the settings. Then he colored the images with Luma dyes under the lines that he had traced. These brilliant colors gave the gritty images a luminescent appearance. He manipulated the images and purposed them as the film’s backgrounds. ...

Longtime animator Edwin Aardal came into animation in 1935 (the same year Johnnie Vita entered it on the opposite side of the continent). He worked at Disney as both an effects animator and character animator, on both shorts and features.



Mr. Aardal spent decades at Walt's place, but then was cut loose in the mid 1950s, much to his sorrow. Walt called him back soon after, but Edwin declined, having already lined up other animation work. You can view a bit of that other work below:



Ed Aardal passed away in 1988, aged 77.

You might be asking: Why do these interviews appear on both Cartoon Research and The Animation Guild blog?

The answer's simple. Mr. Deneroff has done most of the work on these 1980s questions-and-answers, and posts them like clockwork every Monday. The Guild, since the interviews were stored at our headquarters all these years, puts them up as well.

Click here to read entire post

Originality!

It's now all the rage!

... Counting this year’s successes — Paramount’s “10 Cloverfield Lane,” Universal’s Melissa McCarthy comedy “The Boss” and Warner Bros.’ “Central Intelligence,” which all made it into the top 20 of 2016 so far — fresh intellectual property is decidedly hoisting up this year’s box office.

20th Century Fox-Marvel’s “Deadpool” can also be counted since it is the first film based on the motor-mouthed comic book character after which the movie is named. And it’s the third highest-grossing movie of the year to date, behind “Finding Dory” and “Captain America: Civil War.”

“New ideas help grow the business,” said producer Brad Fuller, whose most recent release is the scary movie sequel “The Purge: Election Year.”

Another indicator Hollywood has found newfound confidence in fresh ideas is Pixar’s recent announcement that it has no more sequels slated after “The Incredibles II” in 2019. ...

These things go in cycles. When remakes are big (Cinderella, Jungle Book) they make the same pictures over again.

When sequels are the order of the day, well whattayaknow! Let's make sequels! (All with the same magic story beats as the originals).

But none of this is new. Hollywood made the equivalent of sequels and remakes in the twenties, thirties and beyond.

Charlie Chaplin pictures.

Harold Lloyd pictures.

Doug Fairbanks or Clark Gable of Tyrone Power films. Stars had features tailored to their screen personalities, most with similar story arcs.

So sure, they were not (technically speaking) remakes or sequels of earlier successes, but they were pretty close to the type of movie products we see and love today. When filmmakers find themselves a winning template, they tend to replicate it. And as more than one critic has noted The Private Lives of Pets borrows lots of its narrative building blocks from Toy Story.

In the end, there is little that is fresh and new under the sun.

Click here to read entire post

Princesses!

And the flak Disney takes for them.

... Already ... “Elena of Avalor” has run into questions of princess parity, starting with the medium: Why is Disney introducing her through a television series aimed at children 2 to 11 and not in a full-fledged family movie, like her counterparts? “It really seems like a shun,” wrote Mandy Velez, a co-founder of Revelist, a publication targeted to millennial women. ...

Seemingly everyone has an opinion — often delivered as a demand — about what Disney should be doing with its characters, especially when it comes to diversity.

In 2014, tens of thousands of people signed a petition pushing for a Disney princess with Down syndrome. In the spring, the company faced an online campaign to make Elsa from “Frozen” a lesbian. In recent weeks, an online brush fire has broken out around “Moana,” an animated Polynesian adventure to be released in November; an overweight male character has been criticized as offensive to Pacific Islanders. ...

Okay, the male character in Moana might be comfortably built, but doesn't the fact he's voiced by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (not comfortably built) count for anything?

Probably not.

Obviously an entertainment conglomerate that desires the continuing goodwill of the public has to keep tabs on various bubbling cauldrons of discontent and address centers of anger. But placating one group sometimes alienates another.

How about having characters serve the contours of your story and using analogies ... in the way the fox, rabbit and other animals work as surrogates for humankind in Zootopia ... instead of being heavy-handed and hitting this issue or that directly on the head?

Nah. Somebody would complain.

Click here to read entire post

International Box Office

A plethora of animation decorates the global box office.

Weekend Foreign Box Office -- (World Totals)

Ice Age: Collision Course -- $32,200,000 -- ($52,700,000)

Finding Dory -- $29,700,000 -- ($642,800,000)

The Secret Life of Pets -- $7,800,000 -- ($145,800,000)

The Legend of Tarzan -- $27,000,000 -- ($135,400,000)

Independence Day Resurgence -- $21,500,000 -- ($214,300,000) ...

All of the above are either animated features, or movies with large gobs of animation in them. And as the trades tell us:

... As evidenced over the past few weekends, there is a lot of animated fare out there with studios staking out their regions in a staggered manner. ...

With a $32.2M second frame, Ice Age: Collision Course now has a $57.7M cume across 25 markets. ...

Finding Dory netted $29.7M in 40 total territories. The international cume is now $220.2M for a global reel of $642.8M. ...

Independence Day Resurgence, led by a strong debut in Japan where it grossed $6.4M, ... colonized a further $21.5M from a total 64 markets. Crossing $200M international, the total has landed at $214.3M in the 3rd frame. ...

Click here to read entire post

Thirty-Five Years Back ...

From TAG President Emeritus Tom Sito:

July 9, 1981 - Walt Disney's the "The Fox & The Hound," released. The first animated feature Walt Disney had no input on. Although the film has brief screen credits, it marks the torch being passed from the Nine Old Men golden age generation to the modern generation of animators.

A complete personnel roster would include Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston, Woolie Reitherman, Tim Burton, John Lasseter, Bill Kroyer, Don Bluth, Lorna Cook, Henry Selick, Brad, Bird, Steve Hulett, John Musker, Jerry Rees, Glen Keane and many more.

The picture made quite a bit of money for the studio, and a direct-to-video sequel was produced, but I always thought the original could have been stronger.

Sure, it has a wham-bam climax animated and boarded by Glen Keane (directed by Rick Rich), but Ron Clements, me and several others argued that the old dog Chief should have been killed to strengthen the story and hunting dog Copper's motivation.

No luck. In the late seventies, killing off a protagonist in Disney animated feature was strictly forbidden. So Chief remained injured but alive, the plot of the picture suffered, but the studio still got itself a profitable picture.

And life went on.

Click here to read entire post

Dogs Eat Fish

So for the first time in a long while (maybe forever?), animated features are #1 and #2 on the Big Movie Grosses List. And in the "Show" position (#3) is a live-action movie with a whole lot of animation wrapped inside it. (UPDATE: Okay, so Dory is now #3. But it's still accumulated a tidy pile of greenbacks).

WEEKEND DOMESTIC BOX OFFICE (UPDATED)

1). The Secret Life Of Pets (ILL/UNI), 4,370 theaters /3-day cume: $104.35M/ Per screen avg.: $23,879 /Wk 1

2). The Legend Of Tarzan (WB), 3,591 theaters (+30) / 3-day cume: $21M (-45%)/ Per screen: $5,850 / Total cume: $81.8M/Wk 2

3). Finding Dory (DIS), 3,871 theaters (-434) /3-day cume: $20.8M (-50%)/ Per screen: $5,378 / Total cume: $423M/Wk 4

4). Mike And David Need Wedding Dates (FOX), 2,982 theaters /3-day cume: $16.6M/ Per screen: $5,576 / Wk 1

5). The Purge: Election Day (UNI), 2,821 theaters (+25) /3-day cume: $12.4M (-61%)/ Per screen: $4,392 / Total cume: $58.8M/Wk 2

6). Central Intelligence (WB/NL/UNI), 2,841 theaters (-325) /3-day cume: $8M (-36%)/ Per screen: $2,827 / Total: $108.2M/ Wk 4

7). The BFG (DIS), 3,392 theaters (+35) /3-day cume: $7.8M (-58%)/ Per screen: $2,302 / Total cume: $38.9M/Wk 2

8). Independence Day: Resurgence (FOX), 3,061 theaters (-1,030) / /3-day cume: $7.78M (-53%)/ Per screen: $2,541 / Total: $91.6M/ Wk 3

9). The Shallows (SONY), 2,406 theaters (-556) / 3-day: $4.8M (-45%)/ Per screen: $1,997 / Total: $45.8M/Wk 3

10.) Sultan (YASH), 287 theaters /3-day cume: $2.4M/ Per screen: $8,375 / Total cume: $3.4M/Wk 1 Wed. opening
...

There remain three other animated features hanging by a thread in release at a minuscule number of theaters. The Angry Birds Movie has $106 million; Zootopia owns $341 million; Kung Fu Panda finishes up at $143.5 million.

Click here to read entire post

End of Sequels

The sequels are definitely coming to a finish, says the Prez of Pixar.

Definitely.

For sure.

Right after the next Incredibles sequel, next Toy Story sequel, next Cars sequel ... and so forth and so on.

(I'm so old I can recall when Toy Story 3 was going to be the last of the Toy Stories. How has that declaration held up?) ...

See, it's like the substance abuser who says he's swearing off the cocaine ... or weed ... or crystal meth. The promise to stop is very heartfelt at the time of announcement, but back sliding is so easy. And in the case of animated sequels, so fcking profitable.

Let's be honest. Filmmakers can always get inspired to come up with "a new story that needs to be told, and that we're all very excited about!" when there's marketing and distribution divisions breathing down filmmakers' necks. It truly inspires that good old inspiration. And if division chiefs feel better pretending cartoon studios owned by conglomerates are actually Renaissance art studios, who does it really hurt?

Only a handful of animation geeks who believed the pronouncements in the first place.

Click here to read entire post

Class Action Settlement, Part Deux

There is now preliminary sign-off on the wage collusion case.

A federal judge gave preliminary approval to a settlement between animation workers and two major animation studios on Wednesday night.

Blue Sky Studios and Sony Pictures agreed to pay animation workers and visual effects producers a total of approximately $18 million under the settlement.

"The court finds that the agreed-upon consideration of $5.95 million for Blue Sky and $13 million for Sony Pictures is fair and reasonable based on the circumstances, risks involved, and significant recovery from two of the companies whose share of employee-years comprise 20.3% of the class," U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh wrote in the order.

Other major studios named in the class action, including Pixar, Dreamworks, Lucasfilm, Disney and ImageMovers Digital, continue to fight the case.

Lead plaintiffs Robert Nitsch, Georgia Cano and David Wentworth stand to receive $10,000 as a part of the settlement.

Of the approximately 10,000 class members in line for a payday, 2,038 have worked at Sony and 578 have worked at Blue Sky, according to their attorney Brent Johnson.

The recovery for each of the class members averages $1,026.

Nitsch's September 2014 lawsuit claims major animation studios colluded to fix wages and restrict career opportunities for artists. ...

It's difficult to know with certainty where this lawsuit will end up. Some of our other fine, entertainment conglomerates continue to fight it, and they are hanging some of their hats on the issue of timeliness. Their argument is that plaintiffs knew of the shenanigans and waited too long to file claims against them.

H/t Steve Kaplan.

Click here to read entire post

Sequels and Bumps in the Roadway to BIG GROSSES

Let's see what's going on with the Lego Franchise:

After moving the animated movie [The Lego Movie Sequel] to Feb. 8, 2019, Warner Bros. has also hired Raphael Bob-Waksberg to rewrite the script.

Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who directed the first film, penned the original draft. With the duo currently prepping for the “Star Wars” Han Solo spinoff, the studio opted to get a fresh take on the script.

Rob Schrab is directing with Lord and Miller producing along with returning producers Dan Lin and Roy Lee.

The Lego Movie Sequel is the fourth film in the Warner Bros. franchise, which has two other spinoffs on the horizon: The Lego Batman Movie is set for Feb. 10, 2017, and The Lego Ninjago Movie is scheduled for Sept. 22, 2017.

The Lego Movie grossed more than $469 million worldwide. ...

This "rewrite" thing should surprise nobody.

Animated features always get reworked, restructured, rebuilt from the ground up (etc.). Happened on the old Disney features; happens today. Sometimes the second or third pass pays off in spades, yet a happy ending is not always the end result. How To Train Your Dragon got redone and was a solid gold hit for DreamWorks. On the other side of the coin, Pixar's The Good Dinosaur received a do-over and laid a damp fart.

But the take-away here is, what's going on is pretty much within the normal scheme of things. Sure, there are cartoon features that sail through the production process without a glitch, but there are plenty of specimens that don't. So it's kind of a surprise this is even considered newsworthy.,

Click here to read entire post

Animation Guild Golden Award Interviews #31* -- Hal Ambro and Lee Blair

Hal Ambro and Lee Blair were a bit higher profile than Morey Zukor and Al Bertino, profiled here on Monday. They're reasonably famous names to animation enthusiasts, but not to a lot of other people.

Back in the seventies, old timers at Disney Feature told me what a crackerjack artist and animator Hal Ambro was. But Hal, though he started in animation in the first half of the 1930s, arrived at Disney in 1939 (some sources say '46), after all the supervisory slots had been filled, and none of the top guys -- later known as "the Nine Old Men" -- were pre-disposed to vacate them in favor of a newcomer. (Funny how that works).



Mr. Ambro was an animation work-horse at Disney for twenty years, after which he animated for Chuck Jones and put in a stretch of time at Hanna-Barbera, working on three different features (Heidi's Song, Charlotte's Web, Rock Odyssey). He taught the arto of animation at the California Institute of the Arts starting in 1983, and passed away in 1990.

Lee Blair, brother of Preston and husband of Mary, led multiple artistic lives. He was an animator (and proud of it), he was a color designer, and he was a creator of fine art, principally watercolor landscapes.



Mr. Blair does a pretty thorough job directly above, thumb-nailing his life and career in animation. He served in the Navy the Second World War making training films, then after de-mobilization opened Film-TV Graphics in New York, which produced commercials and industrial films. He wrapped up his long career teaching and painting fine art in Northern California. Lee Blair died in 1993.

* In point of fact, these interviews appeared on Cartoon Research before the interviews we put up a few days ago, but yours truly is just getting around to installing them here, for which apologies.

Click here to read entire post